The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

"You have but one question to answer. How shall this day end?"

Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth is finally concluding with this instalment. Is it supposed to be a finale to the series though, after all, the main event of this story is yet to occur chronologically with the War of the Ring, so it is difficult to make an actual ending to this generation defining saga in this film. So what does this film have to do, conclude, say goodbye, give us a final taste of what we love about Tolkien’s world, I’m not really sure. Be warned, having read the book previously I may forget that some people are experiencing this story for the first time on film, possible slight spoilers ahead.

Picking up immediately after the last film this one sees a vengeful Smaug turning his attention to Lake Town. Then the company of Thorin has to deal with several things, the lost Arkenstone, their king’s obsession, enemies attracted to the mountain from far and wide and not forgetting the return of the Dark Lord’s armies.

I was initially worried about the last minute title change, from There and Back Again, to Five Armies, for me it felt like calling the Two Towers the Battle of Helm’s Deep. But to the film’s credit it does make a point of having a necessary change as nearly half of this film is a battle, without any changes in location or time, just one long drawn out battle shown from many perspectives. It ranges from the heat of the main battlefield to private duels between the Orc and Dwarf leaders. They are all very impressive to look at as well, an epic conflict set to a stunning backdrop.

I will start with the things I enjoyed most and that comes from the character arcs, similarly to Lord of the Rings, as good as big battles are I always love to see the intimate relations and emotions that the characters go through. For a start Bilbo’s arc through this trilogy makes him a better literary character than Frodo for me. The fact that he’s a reluctant hero that chooses to go on this adventure rather than being mostly forced into it as his nephew was makes him more interesting in my opinion. The fact that this Hobbit manages to step up to the challenge but holds onto his small comforts in life, combined with Martin Freeman’s continually wonderful portrayal makes him the undisputed central character, as he should be.

Thorin is another really good tale of character in this finale, his descent into madness is slow and almost seems in conjunction with his previous attitudes throughout the series for most of the time. The two characters not only have great personal stories, but their relationship is crafted very well, it goes from scepticism to respect to betrayal and finally friendship. I’m also glad that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Smaug got a last bit of screen time, because that is pretty impressive.

Some have criticised this series for deviating too much from the book. But I was surprised to find that the concluding elements of the book remain the same. My argument would be that you can deviate slightly in the middle as long as you reach the same finishing point, as Jackson and Tolkien have done. An example would be how I was expecting more changes to come to give the added Dwarf-Elf romance a happy ending, but… (sorry, I warned you of slight spoilers).

There are problems though, primarily the fact that this series should have been two films. The emotional weight had been played out and stretched too much to have a huge effect by now. Also, at the start of this film you will meet Alfred again, and you will really wish you hadn’t. His involvement is completely unnecessary, he’s not especially menacing or comical, just annoying. You also have to wonder why people keep giving him important jobs when he’s clearly useless ‘Alfred guard the prisoner, protect my children, lead the evacuation’. There’s not even a satisfying death for him. There’s not much relief either, it’s all action or heavy emotions.

In terms of emotion it works on a sentimental level rather than a gripping way. But in the end that is a good tone to take with the final instalment of a series, a chance to look back on an amazing spectacle rather than live in the moment as much. Though Jackson may have overstepped his reach a bit with the Middle Earth saga, you wouldn’t want to live in a world without it.

Result: 7/10

PS: This is my last review of the year, I will do a best and worst list after I’ve seen the American releases coming here after the new year. Until then have a very happy new year, goodbye 2014, hello 2015.